West Virginia Code 47-28-3 – Deceptive legal advertising practices
(a) Specifically prohibited legal advertising practices. — A person engages in an unfair or deceptive act or practice if, in a legal advertisement, the person does any of the following:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 47-28-3
- Legal advertisement: means a solicitation for legal services regarding the use of medications through television, radio, newspaper or other periodical, outdoor display, or other written, electronic, or recorded communications wherein the advertisement solicits clients or potential clients for legal services. See West Virginia Code 47-28-2
- Person: means an individual or entity, including, but not limited to: (i) Attorneys. See West Virginia Code 47-28-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(1) Fails to contain the statement: “This is a paid advertisement for legal services.”;
(2) Presents a legal advertisement as a “consumer medical alert”, “health alert”, “consumer alert”, “public service health announcement”, or substantially similar phrase suggesting to a reasonable recipient that the advertisement is offering professional, medical, or government agency advice about pharmaceuticals or medical devices rather than legal services;
(3) Displays the logo of a federal or state government agency in a manner that suggests affiliation with the sponsorship of that agency;
(4) Uses the word “recall” when referring to a product that has not been recalled by a government agency or through an agreement between a manufacturer and government agency;
(5) Fails to identify the sponsor of the legal advertisement; or
(6) Fails to indicate the identity of the attorney or law firm that will represent clients, or how potential clients or cases will be referred to attorneys or law firms that will represent clients if the sponsor of the legal advertisement may not represent persons responding to the advertisement.
(b) Disclosures and warnings for protection of patients. —
(1) A legal advertisement soliciting clients for legal services in connection with a prescription drug or medical device approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shall include the following warning: “Do not stop taking a prescribed medication without first consulting with your doctor. Discontinuing a prescribed medication without your doctor’s advice can result in injury or death.”.
(2) A legal advertisement soliciting clients for legal services in connection with a prescription drug or medical device approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shall disclose that the subject of the legal advertisement remains approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, unless the product has been recalled or withdrawn.
(c) Appearance of required statements, disclosures, and warnings. — Any words or statements required by this section to appear in an advertisement must be presented clearly and conspicuously.
(1) Written disclosures shall be clearly legible and, if televised or displayed electronically, shall be displayed for a sufficient time to enable the viewer to easily see and fully read the disclosure or disclaimer.
(2) Spoken disclosures shall be plainly audible and clearly intelligible.
(d) A person who willfully and knowingly violates this section engages in an unfair and deceptive act or practice in violation of § 46A-6-101 et seq. of this code.